Paris with an 8 year old

[TitaniumTess]

Hi, my son who will be 8 in the summer wants to see Paris and the Eiffel Tower.

It will be just me and him travelling. Any tips around how many nights is sensible... 3?

And where to stay. I'm debating whether or not to loop in EuroDisney too.

We live in Lancashire so will most likely fly from Manchester or Leeds to CDG airport.

Thanks in advance!

As many nights as you can afford - there is so much do see and do with an 8yo. It will be busy in the summer (and hot) so you won't be able to tick off the attractions quickly and I recommend you factor in some time to cool off and soak up the atmosphere in the parks and playgrounds. 5 or 6 nights would be good.

Have a look at Parc Asterix. A typical 8yo boy would love it and it will be less busy than Disney.

@Forgottenmyphone Thank you!

Queue fir the stairs at the Eiffel Tower as it is quicker than queuing for the lift

CDG is quite far away from Paris but you can take the train. The RATP Bonjour ( I think that’s the name) app is good.
the boat trips at dusk are good as you get tk see the Eiffel Tower lit up and glittery. Its fun.
Everything gets booked up. So it’s definitely worth booking in advance things you definitely want to do. We went in October. Turned up expecting to get in the boat. It was full and we had to come back the next day.

If the stops are close to sights you want to see, the Batobus might be worth getting tickets for https://www.batobus.com/en . You can just do a loop if you want . Montparnasse Tower gives you a fantastic view on a clear day across the city, which includes the Eiffel Tower - definitely worth factoring in time for this.

I done Paris with my son when he was 8 too. Was brilliant. We done three nights and looped in Disney as well, I’m not big on Disney but it was a fantastic experience. It can get freakishly hot in the summer there and it was when we visited but we survived although there were people face down on the grass at Disney. One of my favourite trips with him, I’d say 3 nights for sure, excited for you!

I took my 8 and 10 year old boys in September (and my sister to help out). We done 4 nights at dream castle hotel which is 10 mins free shuttle to Disney. We done two days at Disney, one day travelling into Paris. On the Paris day we jumped a train into the city, got off at the arc de triumph, walked down to the Eiffel Tower and done a river cruise boat which was fantastic! We seen lots of sights. I then took my 8 year old to the PSG stadium for a tour while my other son and sister walked around and took photos. Then we all met up and went to the Louvre to see Mona Lisa. We literally walked around the museum just to see Mona Lisa then left. It was a long packed day, I wish we had took our time more and spend two days in Paris. It was a great holiday but I did come back thinking I need a break 🤣

Just to add. We stupidly got a taxi from airport to hotel, the bolt app was saying about 60 euros. The taxi driver charged me 174euros!! Do absolutely pre book on bolt or get the train. The Eurostar for the 4 of us back to CDG was still over 100euros too.

There are laws about taxis from the airport - no way should it have been that much - you were scammed.

he waved us down pretty much shouting taxi and I was tired, my son had a nosebleed on the plane I was stressed and stupidly agreed. I asked if he took card and he said yes. Then he pulled up at a bank machine and showed me his phone saying 174. I went to the machine and took out 180 and handed it to him and he never even gave me change! I would have tipped but no way was I after the price I had to pay: I felt really intimidated aswell. I’m sure it was a hire car he used. We made sure to use the bolt app the rest of our journeys.

There is a fixed rate from CDG to Paris — it's something like €60 to the right bank and €70 to the left. So what you took was not a legitimate taxi.

There are signs on your way out of the terminal warning people about fake/unlicenced taxis. But of course we all get tired, and if you are not familiar with the place or don't speak French, you may not know what to look for. 🙏😢

Not sure if it's still the case, but we did the Eiffel Tower 6 years ago and booked in advance to go right to the top. They were limiting how many people go all the way up, and I overheard a lot of disappointed people.

Thanks all. I've booked Thursday to Tuesday flights for August.

Just need to figure out a good location to stay in now for Paris itself. Any ideas?

Stay centrally. The areas around Opera or Gare St Lazare are nice.

Be very wary of the various con artists and petition girls who hang around the general vicinity of both the Eiffel Tower and Sacre Couer. Keep a close eye on your belongings. To my mind at least you’re better off seeing the Eiffel Tower from a distance also because of the long amount of time spent in security lines before you get into the tower.

We stayed in dream castle hotel which has a free shuttle to Disney every 15 mins. Disney is right at the train station too and we did travel into Paris on the train for an action packed day. But our break was more Disney focused 😊

We took our kids aged 3-10 a few years ago.

Absolutely loved Parc Asterix. All of us preferred it to Disney.